UNITED NATIONS E EConomic and Social Distr. Council GENERAL TRANS/WP.24/2000/1 1 February 2000 ENGLISH Original: ENGLISH and FRENCH ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE INLAND TRANSPORT COMMITTEE Working Party on Combined Transport (Thirty-third session, 10-11 April 2000, agenda item 9) TERMINOLOGY ON COMBINED TRANSPORT Note by the secretariat This document lists the principal terms used in combined transport or related to it. All the definitions referring specifically to the geographical framework of Europe may be applied to other regions of the world. They are intended for the work of the three intergovernmental organizations, the European Community, the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) and the UN/ECE. The purpose of this glossary is to determine the meaning of the terms in current use, and to make them more easing understandable by the increasing number of people who use them, the politicians, technical personnel or those operating in the various modes of transport concerned. These definitions are not applicable in their strictest sense to the legal and statistical fields, whose relevant documents of reference exist already. This being the case, the translation of the most widely used terms in combined transport into the three working languages of the UN/ECE is intended to gradually harmonize this terminology. GE.00- TRANS/WP.24/2000/1 page 2 CONTENTS Page I. General Terms 5-6 1.0 Multimodal transport 1.1 Intermodal transport 1.2 Combined transport 1.3 Road-rail transport 1.4 Rolling road 1.5 Accompanied combined transport 1.6 Unaccompanied combined transport 1.7 Roll-on-roll-off (RO-RO) 1.8 Lift-on-lift-off (LO-LO) 1.9 Feeder service 1.10 Logistics 1.11 Short sea shipping 1.12 Consignment 1.14 Limit of liability 1.13 Transshipment II. Combined transport actors 6-7 2.0 Shipper/consignor/sender 2.1 Forwarding agent/freight forwarder 2.2 Consignee 2.3 Transport operator/carrier 2.4 Actual carrier/subcontractor 2.5 Principal 2.6 Multimodal transport operator (MTO) III. Transport units 7-8 3.0 Articulated vehicle 3.1 Road train 3.3 Semi-trailer 3.2 Trailer 3.4 Pocket wagon 3.5 “Basket” wagon 3.6 “Spine” wagon 3.7 Low floor wagon 3.8 Rolling-road wagon 3.9 Double stack wagon 3.10 Bimodal semi-trailer (rail-road) 3.11 Panamax 3.12 Overpanamax TRANS/WP.24/2000/1 page 3 Page IV. Loading units 9-10 4.0 Loading unit 4.1 Intermodal transport unit (ITU) 4.2 Container 4.3 Land container 4.4 Maritime container 4.6 High cube container 4.7 Super high cube container 4.8 TEU 4.9 Swap body 4.10 Stacking 4.11 Stuffing/stripping 4.12 Corner fitting 4.13 Twistlock 4.14 Tare V. The unit load 10-11 5.0 Unit load 5.1 Pallet 5.2 “Big bag” VI. Infrastructure and equipment 11-13 6.0 Terminal 6.1 Logistic center 6.2 Hub 6.3 Freeport 6.4 Dry port 6.5 Rail loading gauge A gauge B gauge C gauge 6.6 Track gauge 6.7 Loading track 6.8 Private siding 6.9 Classic crane 6.10 Gantry crane 6.11 Straddle carrier 6.12 Reach stacker 6.13 Fork lift truck 6.14 RO-RO ramp 6.15 Spreader TRANS/WP.24/2000/1 page 4 I. GENERAL TERMS 1.0 MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT: Carriage of goods by two or more modes of transport. 1.1 INTERMODAL TRANSPORT: The movement of goods in one and the same loading unit or road vehicle, which uses successively two or more modes of transport without handling the goods themselves in changing modes. By extension, the term intermodality has been used to describe a system of transport whereby two or more modes of transport are used to transport the same loading unit or truck in an integrated, without loading or unloading, in a [door to door] transport chain1/. 1.2 COMBINED TRANSPORT: Intermodal transport where the major part of the European journey is by rail, inland waterways or sea and any initial and/or final legs carried out by road are as short as possible. 1.3 ROAD-RAIL TRANSPORT: Combined transport by rail and road In English, the term piggyback does not refer to combined transport in general but specifically to the transport by rail of road semi-trailers. 1.4 ROLLING ROAD: Transport of complete road vehicles, using roll-on roll-off techniques, on trains comprising low-floor wagons throughout. 1.5 ACCOMPANIED COMBINED TRANSPORT: Transport of complete road vehicles, accompanied by the driver, using another mode of transport (for example ferry or train). 1.6 UNACCOMPANIED COMBINED TRANSPORT: Transport of road vehicles or Intermodal Transport Units (see 4.1), not accompanied by the driver, using another mode of transport (for example a ferry or a train). 1.7 ROLL-ON-ROLL-OFF (RO-RO): / 1 Commission Communication COM(97)243 Final used the term intermodality to describe a system of transport where at least two different modes of transport are used in an integrated way to complete a door to door transport chain. TRANS/WP.24/2000/1 page 5 Loading and unloading of a road vehicle, a wagon or an ITU on or off a ship on its own wheels or wheels attached to it for that purpose. In the case of rolling road, only road vehicles are driven on and off a train. 1.8 LIFT-ON-LIFT-OFF (LO-LO): Loading and unloading of Intermodal Transport Units (ITU) using lifting equipment. 1.9 FEEDER SERVICE: Short sea shipping service which connects at least two ports in order for the freight (generally containers) to be consolidated or redistributed to or from a deep-sea service in one of these ports. By extension, this concept may be used for inland transport services. 1.10 LOGISTICS: The process of designing and managing the supply chain in the wider sense. The chain can extend from the delivery of supplies for manufacturing, through the management of materials at the plant, delivery to warehouses and distribution centres, sorting, handling, packaging and final distribution to point of consumption. 1.11 SHORT SEA SHIPPING: Movement of cargo by sea between ports situated in Europe as well as between ports in Europe and ports situated in non-European countries having a coastline on the enclosed seas bordering Europe. 1.12 CONSIGNMENT: Freight sent under a single contract of carriage. In combined transport, this term may be used for statistical purposes, to measure loading units or road vehicles. The grouping together of several consignments into a full load is called consolidation or groupage. 1.13 TRANSSHIPMENT: Moving ITUs from one means of transport to another. 1.14 LIMIT OF LIABILITY TRANS/WP.24/2000/1 page 6 The maximum sum of money payable by a carrier to a shipper for any damage or loss to the cargo for which the carrier is liable under the contract of carriage. The amount of the limitation is determined by agreement or by law. II. COMBINED TRANSPORT ACTORS Contract of carriage Consignor Carrier /sender Freight forwarder /Transport operator /shipper /Forwarding agent Actual Carrier/Subcontractor Consignee The above terms are used in (international) transport contracts. 2.0 SHIPPER/CONSIGNOR/SENDER: A person or company* who puts goods in the care of others (forwarding agent/freight forwarder, carrier/transport operator) to be delivered to a consignee. 2.1 FORWARDING AGENT/FREIGHT FORWARDER: Intermediary who arranges for the carriage of goods and/or associated services on behalf of a shipper. _______________ * in the following definitions of this chapter, a person means either a physical or legal person or a company. 2.2 CONSIGNEE: TRANS/WP.24/2000/1 page 7 Person entitled to take delivery of the goods. 2.3 TRANSPORT OPERATOR/ CARRIER: The person responsible for the carriage of goods, either directly or using a third party. 2.4 ACTUAL CARRIER/SUBCONTRACTOR: A third party who performs the carriage completely or partly. 2.5 PRINCIPAL: A person for whom another acts as an agent. 2.6 MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT OPERATOR (MTO) Any person who concludes a multimodal transport contract and assumes responsibility for the performance thereof as a carrier or a transport operator. III. TRANSPORT UNITS 3.0 ARTICULATED VEHICLE: A motor vehicle coupled to a semi-trailer. 3.1 ROAD TRAIN: A motor vehicle coupled to a trailer (sometimes referred to in English as a drawbar-trailer combination). 3.2 TRAILER: A non-powered vehicle for the carriage of goods, intended to be coupled to a motor vehicle, excluding semi-trailers. 3.3 SEMI-TRAILER: A non-powered vehicle for the carriage of goods, intended to be coupled to a motor vehicle in such a way that a substantial part of its weight and of its load is borne by the motor vehicle. Semi- trailers may have to be specially adapted for use in combined transport. 3.4 POCKET WAGON: A rail wagon with a recessed pocket to accept the road wheels of a semi-trailer. TRANS/WP.24/2000/1 page 8 3.5 “BASKET” WAGON: A rail wagon with a demountable subframe, fitted with devices for vertical handling, to allow the loading and unloading of semi-trailers or road vehicles, not exceeding 12 m long. 3.6 “SPINE” WAGON: A rail wagon with a central chassis designed to carry a semi-trailer. 3.7 LOW FLOOR WAGON: A rail wagon with a low loading platform specially built to carry Intermodal Transport Units (ITU) 3.8 ROLLING-ROAD WAGON: A rail wagon with low floor throughout which, when coupled together, form a rolling-road (cf.